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My Picks for Make Music Pasadena Sat Jun 1

Make Music Pasadena is on Saturday, June 1, and is a great start to the first month of Summer! What I love about music festivals is also what I hate: too many choices!! Over 150 concerts will be featured there! Add to that conflicting set times and throngs of people to get through and my decision-making falls along 2 groups: great musicians I’ve seen before (and love to support) and new acts to be discovered. You can’t go wrong with any of the great bands playing this Saturday but here are my picks. It’s a free festival but please consider donating $5 to support your local music and festivals like this one! It’s forecast to be 92 in Pasadena, so drink lots of water, don’t forget your sunblock and like the song goes…don’t let the heat get you down!

Acts I’ve Seen and Highly Recommend!

1pm The Dustbowl Revival – This Venice roots band will have you handclappin’ and footstompin’ the whole time with their raucous gypsy swing, blues, dixieland, bluegrass, and homemade jug-band music.

2:30pm The Record Company – This band is the real deal – I can’t get enough of their blazing blues rock and they rock live!

6pm Irene Diaz – I like to call her LA’s rising Fiona Apple – such a big, soaring voice to go with her poetic ballads.

6pm Youngblood Hawke – Saw them at School Night at Bardot…they’re a really fun, live band.

6:45pm Las Cafeteras – I attend every one of their shows. I’m serious — they’re THAT great. Combining the traditional folk music & dancing of son jarocho with their socially conscious songs and positive messages about community and unity, they always get the crowd moving on their feet!

New Acts I Want to See:

12pm Freedom Fry – One French Girl + One American Guy = Beautiful Music

2pm Dom La Nena – Chanteuse who devoted her life early to the cello and grew up in Brazil, France and Argentina makes beautiful haunting, nostalgic music as intricate as her upbringing. She’s flying here for her first US shows! I won’t get out of work on time so I’ll be catching her Sunday 6/2 at Hotel Cafe in Hollywood.

4pm Salt Petal – A local band who describe themselves as Tropical-tinged folk indie rock/pop.

4:45pm Robert DeLong – I’ve been meaning to catch him for a while now…not sure if I can get out of work on time to catch his set so if you do, you better dance for me!

6pm Jessica Fichot – A French/Chinese/American chanteuse who sings in 4 languages, spent her youth in Paris, and creates a delicious blend of French chanson, gypsy jazz and international folk? Oui! s’il vous plaît!

7pm Torreblanca – Another band coming from afar, Torreblanca is from Mexico and I like the sound of their Latin pop.

8pm/9pm David & Olivia – I met Olivia through a mutual friend and she’s quite a talented young lady singing and playing in a number of bands, including this blues & country pairing.